Well, what did you do in school today?
Whether it was yesterday or many years ago, most of us have been asked such a question.
Probably not many can reply, “I helped write a song.” But on Wednesday, June 3, about 40 fourth-graders from Oneonta’s Riverside Elementary School could go home and boast of their new songwriting skills.
The students gathered on the front lawn of the Swart-Wilcox House Museum to help update a song written in 1990, called “Built by Hand, 200 Years I Stand.” That song was written by Oneonta school students at the time with songwriter Susan Trump, who returned on June 3 to have students brainstorm and update the 36-year-old song.
The updated verses will include two recent additions to the museum grounds. A corn crib came to the grounds from Schoharie County after the 2011 flood. The upcoming addition will be a barn, which now has a full foundation, and construction work will begin soon, with a dedication later in the year.
The song will be performed in its entirety by Trump and the students during a celebration from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday, July 3, at Swart-Wilcox, as part of Oneonta’s America 250 celebrations, which start Thursday, July 2 and conclude Sunday, July 5.
One group of fourth graders worked on the verse about the new barn, while a second focused on the corn crib. Trump performed the song, and was followed by Friends of Swart-Wilcox House President Helen Rees, who told stories about the barn and corn crib, and the brainstorming began by the fourth graders. Swart-Wilcox’s Lois Roam and Debby Clough also assisted in the creative process.
The origin of the song dates back to an Arts in Education program gathering in 1990, which Rees attended, and Trump was one of the artists on hand. Rees met Trump at one of the workshops, and they talked about how the Swart-Wilcox House was on a path to major improvements at the time. Fourth-grade students were starting to visit the museum, and Rees spoke with Trump about developing a song the students could help write.
The original version had 15 verses, and has been since reduced to seven, but two new verses will be added to bring the song up to date.
As Trump explained, “Part of songwriting, the way it works is, the kids need the information, because they’re the experts in the topic. I facilitate the information making it rhyme. It all forms into a ballad, which tells a story.”
In 1990, Trump recalled how about 80 students got into groups on the museum lawn and took a topic about the house or Oneonta history, such as the railroad, river, school, Swart’s arrival and the eventual sale of the house to the Wilcox family, among others. Trump then helped each group form verses about their topic.
One verse is about Lawrence Swart’s arrival, and goes, “He loved the land of trees and hills, He worked his farm and he had no bills.”
Trump has been collaborating in songwriting with students and groups all over Upstate New York for more than 30 years, in just about anything the kids are studying at their schools, she said.
In addition to the ballad, in which the audience can participate, there will be an old-fashioned singalong of patriotic songs and a concert by the Contrasonics.
Additional activities from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday, July 3 will be tours of the Swart-Wilcox House and a plaque dedication by the Oneonta chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution to Lawrence Swart, a Revolutionary War veteran who built the house in 1807. Local Boy Scouts will be an honor guard. Brooks’ House of Bar-B-Q will have chicken dinners for sale, there will be ice cream and a vintage baseball game on the field next to the house at 5 p.m.
For the dedication and game, visitors should bring lawn chairs or blankets, as seating will be limited at the dedication.
For additional details about Oneonta’s America 250 events, visit Facebook: Oneonta250.